内容导读
哪怕性别不同、门第高低相异、肤色各异、信仰有别，所有人都有其不容冒犯的内在尊严，最为基本的权利便是生存、自由和对幸福的追求。这一观点由美国的《独立宣言》提出，它为反抗英国政府对美洲殖民地的专制统治提供了合法依据，亦为美国民族共同体的形成提供了最好的纽带。
英文正文
We hold these truths to be self-evident,that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,that among these are life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness.That to secure these rights,governments are instituted among them,deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends,it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it,and to institute new government,laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form,as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence,indeed,will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes;and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer,while evils are sufferable,than to tight themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.But when along train of abuses and usurpations,pursuing invariably the same object evinces adesign to reduce them under absolute despotism,it is their right,it is their duty,to throw off such government,and to provide new guards for their future security.
中文译文
独立宣言——托马斯·杰斐逊等
我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物主赋予他们若干不能剥夺的权利，其中包括生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。为了保障这些权利，人们才在他们中间建立政府，而政府的正当权利则是经被统治者同意授予的。任何形式的政府一旦对这些目标的实现起破坏作用时，人民便有权予以更换或废除，以建立一个新的政府。新政府所依据的原则和组织其权利的方式，需使人民认为唯有这样才最有可能使他们获得安全和幸福。
若真要审慎地说，成立多年的政府是不应当由于无关紧要的和一时的原因而予以更换的。过去的一切经验都说明，任何苦难，只要尚能忍受，人类还是情愿忍受，也不想为申冤而废除他们久已习惯了的政府形式。然而，当始终追求同一目标的一系列滥用职权和强取豪夺的行为表明政府企图把人民置于专制暴政之下时，人民就有权也有义务去推翻这样的政府，并为其未来的安全提供新的保障。
词汇速记
derive v. 源于；导出
prudence n. 谨慎；节俭
dictate v. 指示；口述
transient adj. 短暂的
usurpation n. 篡夺
despotism n. 专制
美句欣赏
We hold these truths to be self-evident,that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,that among these are life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness.我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物主赋予他们若干不能剥夺的权利，其中包括生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。